"Proven nuclear technology can help Indonesia meet its economic, energy and environmental goals." according to Agneta Rising, Director General of World Nuclear Association, who was speaking at the opening of World Nuclear Spotlight Indonesia 2018.

Indonesia needs to double its electricity generation capacity over the next ten years, and continue that expansion beyond 2050, to improve access to electricity and meet the demand of its growing economy and population.

At the same time Indonesia needs to tackle high levels of air pollution and deliver on the commitment made at the COP 21 climate change conference to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 29% by 2030.

Indonesia has strong public support for nuclear energy and has committed to developing an experimental high temperature reactor, I-EPR. This could lead to new nuclear technologies that would supply electricity, desalinate water and provide district heating and industrial process heat.

By also committing to a programme of new build based on current technology Indonesia could benefit from nuclear generation sooner and develop skills that would be transferable to its advanced nuclear programme.

Agneta Rising was speaking at the opening of World Nuclear Spotlight Indonesia 2018, an event that brought key global nuclear industry figures to Jakarta to meeting with Indonesian experts. The conference heard that development of nuclear energy worldwide is strong, with more than 15 GW of new nuclear capacity expected to start delivering electricity in 2018, three times the average level seen over the previous 25 years.